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India claims US$30b from Reliance, BP

with the government, both Reliance and the government have said in previous public statements. The government’s profit share was 10% in the first year and under the contract could rise subsequently once costs were recovered, the government has said in previous public comments. During the arbitration hearings, the government justified its demand of US$30 billion in compensation by saying that it owned any gas discovered under the contract and that mismanagement had led to most of the reserves being lost, two people said. It alleged that Reliance mismanaged the fields by pursuing what the government argued was “unduly aggressive” production methods, which involved extracting gas from fewer wells than the number initially planned, two people said. The government says Reliance used only 18 wells, instead of 31 planned, without adequate infrastructure, which resulted in damage to the reservoir, they said. – Reuters

be settled by a mutually agreed arbitration tribunal. Two individuals said that the government argued in the arbitration that Reliance had estimated recoverable gas reserves from D1 and D3 fields at about 10 trillion cubic feet but had produced only about 20% of that. The government said that Reliance and BP should pay the government the value of the shortfall, two people said. In their arguments to the tribunal, Reliance and BP disputed that they owed anything to the government, the two people said. In a public statement in February 2020 to announce it had ceased production at the D1 and D3 fields, Reliance said that overall production from the block that includes those fields had reached 3 tcf of gas equivalent. It was not clear from the statement how much of the gas came from the D1 and D3 fields. Under the contract with the government, Reliance and its partners were allowed to recover costs from gas and oil sales before sharing profits

A spokesperson for UK-based BP, a Reliance partner in the fields, declined to comment. Spokespeople for India’s federal Oil, Law and Information Ministries, and the prime minister’s office, did not reply to multiple requests seeking comment. The gas block, located in the Bay of Bengal off the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, was awarded by the Indian government in 2000 to Reliance, a company controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, under a production sharing contract. The US$30 billion claim is the largest ever pursued by the Indian government against a corporation and centres on its allegation that mismanagement by the companies resulted in the loss of most of the reserves in D1 and D3, three people said. In 2011, Reliance sold a 30% stake in 21 oil-and-gas production sharing contracts (PSCs) that Reliance operates in India, including the KG-D6 block, to BP for US$7.2 billion. Under the production sharing contract between Reliance and the Indian government, disputes must

o Govt argues mismanagement resulted in lost reserves, sources say

NEW DELHI: India is seeking over US$30 billion in compensation from Reliance Industries and BP in an arbitration case for gas it says the companies failed to produce from offshore fields, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. A tribunal has been hearing the dispute in India since 2016 over gas produced from two deepwater fields, D1 and D3, in the D6 block of the Krishna Godavari basin, seven individuals with knowledge of the proceedings said. Final arguments took place on Nov 7, they said. The three-member tribunal is expected to deliver its verdict in mid-2026, two people aware of the hearing schedule said. The verdict can be challenged in Indian courts, several people said. Reuters is reporting the case and India’s US$30 billion claim for the first time.

The D1 and D3 fields, India’s first major deepwater gas project, were seen as key to bolstering the country’s energy independence when first developed. However, the high-profile project was plagued by production difficulties related to water ingress and reservoir pressure, as well as cost-recovery disputes with the government, and failed to live up to initial production hopes, previous public statements by Reliance and the government show. In 2012, the Oil Ministry told parliament in a written statement that prior to commencing the work on the D6 gas fields, Reliance had estimated the recoverable reserves from D1 and D3 at 10.3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) before revising that down to 3.1 tcf. A Reliance spokesperson said that the arbitration is confidential and did not comment on the case.

UBS warms to beaten-down rupee MUMBAI: The Indian rupee’s slide against the dollar has increased its allure for UBS Asset Management ahead of a long-anticipated trade deal with the US, even as it remains neutral on Indian bonds. “We like the currency and feel it is very cheap. The trade deal has not yet been announced but we are hopeful it would be announced soon, so at these levels, the currency is looking attractive,”said Shamaila Khan, head of fixed income emerging markets and Asia Pacific, UBS Asset Management. The Indian rupee has recovered partially from a record low of 91.0750 hit earlier in the month, but still remains down nearly 5% in 2025, the worst performing major Asian currency this year. The rupee has been hit by weak investment flows and steep US tariffs in the absence of a trade deal. Traders say the currency continues to face pressure despite the Reserve Bank of India keeping volatility in check. Measured against a basket of trading-partner currencies, the rupee’s real effective exchange rate has fallen to a decadal low in “undervaluation” territory, but investors reckon that may not be enough to drive a rebound just yet. UBS, though, argues that the RBI allowing the currency to fall is a temporary phenomenon, intended to support exporters until a trade deal is reached. “The cheapness of the currency is a new development, so investors should look at that, as the fundamentals of the country look intact and when Indian assets cheapen, it is an opportunity for us,” Shamaila said, noting that she expects a trade deal with the US in the next few months. Even as the asset manager remains bullish on the Indian rupee, UBS AM is neutral on the nation’s government bonds that screen as expensive in terms of valuation. “We are neutral to underweight on the fixed income space, as we feel they are not very cheap compared to the currency,” Shamaila added. The 10-year bond yield is down 14 bps after hitting a high of 6.70% last week, as the central bank announced a slew of liquidity measures. Foreign investors have been withdrawing funds from India’s government bonds this month, on the view that the central bank is done with its rate easing cycle and amid the fall in rupee. – Reuters

Panama authorities tear down China monument PANAMA CITY: Near the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China’s contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down on Saturday night by order of local authorities. waterway spanning Bridge of the Americas, had structural damage that posed a “risk”. In a video posted to X, the Chinese embassy called for a“thorough investigation”of the case and to “severely sanction” the “illegal, improper and vandalistic” actions. A man takes a photo with his phone of a part of the site where the Chinese monument once stood before it was demolished in Arraijan. – AFPPIC

But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said on Sunday that “there is no justification whatsoever for the barbarity committed“, calling it “an unforgivable act of irrationality.” After personally inspecting the demolition, China’s ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan said it was a “great pain for bilateral friendship”, noting the insult to 300,000 Chinese-Panamanians. Some members of the Chinese community witnessed the destruction but police prevented them from reaching the lookout to stop it, according to videos published by local media.

The US and China are the main users of the 80km canal, which sees the passage of five percent of global maritime trade. The Panama Canal was under US control from 1914 to 1999, when it was taken over by Panama. Trump has demanded preferential conditions for its use by US vessels. Hong Kong-based Hutchison Holdings operates two ports on the Pacific and the Atlantic, but has agreed to sell them to US-based BlackRock. – AFP

The move comes as US President Donald Trump has made threats in recent months to retake control of the canal, claiming Beijing has too much influence in its operations. In a surprising move that has been criticised by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor’s office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolise friendship between the countries. The mayor’s office said in a statement that the monument, which overlooked the